Device for connecting collapsed containers in stacked relation



p 24, 1968 1.. E. ERIKSSON 3,402,845

DEVICE FOR CONNECTING COLLAPSED CONTAINERS IN STACKED RELATION FiledFeb. 16, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet l I Iguwumu' P 24, 1963 L. E. ERIKSSON3,402,845

DEVICE FOR CONNECTING COLLAPSED CONTAINERS IN STACKED RELATION FiledFeb. 16, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 P 24, 1968 L. E. ERIKSSON I 3,402,845

DEVICE FOR CONNECTING COLLAPSED CONTAINERS IN STACKED RELATION FiledFeb. 16, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,402,845 DEVICE FORCONNECTING COLLAPSED CONTAINERS IN STACKED RELATION Lars Erik Eriksson,Dosentintie 5A, Helsinki, Finland Filed Feb. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 616,659Claims priority, application Finland, Dec. 30, 1966, 3,488/ 66 5 Claims.(Cl. 2201.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device which is usable in conjunction witha large container, the ends of which can be pivoted around hinge pinstowards one another and placed on top of the bottom in order to collapsethe container to a small volume. In the corners of the bottom are cornerfittings with holes for lifting hooks. Openings are made in the lower.part of the ends, which when the ends are collapsed are situatedopposite the openings in the corner fittings of the container placedabove this container, whereby the containers can be secured to oneanother by means of locking pieces passing through the coincidentopenings.

In recent times uniform large containers have found increasing use forthe sea transport of all kinds of goods. By means of these containers,the handling of the goods is simplified and the packing and freightcosts are reduced. The goods are packed right at the factory in suchcontainers, the containers are carried to the dockside, lifted on board,unloaded at the port of destination and subsequently carried ascontainers to the consignee. The containers are large in order that theymay be used for the carriage of widely differing goods. 8 x 8' x 20'have been agreed as standard dimensions for the most-used containers, 20tons has been agreed as maximum gross weight for such a container. Thelength of the containers may vary from 10' to 40'. The known types ofcontainers are box-shaped and usually have doors at one end. Suchcontainers occupy the same space, whether loaded or empty. Frequentlythe containers must be carried empty back to their point of departure,in which case the return costs for the empty containers may be as highas the freight costs for the loaded containers.

The present invention relates to such containers which can be dismantledafter emptying, in the event that there is no cargo to be loaded in themfor the return journey. An empty container then occupies only a fractionof the space required for a loaded container. The container has aremovable top which may consist of corner tubes and a tarpaulin or toppanels placed over these. In the container, the end panels can bepivoted around hinge pins, towards one another, and be placed on top ofthe bottom. Such a design is already known, but it has not been employedfor large containers of the kind referred to here, which must be able towithstand the weight of nine vertically stacked containers of the samesize, this weight being 180 tons in the case of -ft. long containers.

In order that the empty, compactly stowed containers can be easilyhandled they must be bound together in stacks to make as assembly of thesame size as the original container. One assembly could comprise, forexample 5-7 containers. In this way the cargo spaces of the ship can beeffectively utilized since the assemblies and the loaded containerswould be at least approxmiately the same height. The assembly could thenbe handled like a container. This is of great importance particularlysince a transition is being made to automated computer-controlledloading and unloading of ships.

ice

The purpose of the present invention is to provide means to secure thecompactly stowed containers in -a vertical stack so as to form anassembly of a size corresponding to one container or possibly twovertically stacked containers. The invention makes use of standardizedcorner fittings at each corner of the containers. The corner [fittingshave openings for the hooks of the lifting cables. The hooks can beaffixed to the casingseither at the lower corners of the container or atits upper corners.

The invention is directed to a device which is usable in conjunctionwith a large container, the ends of which can be pivoted around hingepins towards one another and placed on top of the bottom in order tocollapse the container into a small volume, the corners of the containerhaving fittings with holes for lifting hooks. The invention is mainlycharacterized in that openings are made in the lower part of the endframes, which when the ends are collapsed are situated opposite theopenings in the corner casings of a container placed above thiscontainer, whereby the containers can be secured to one another by meansof locking pieces passing through the coincident openings.

In one form of the invention, the locking piece consists of a bodyhaving a downward projection filling a hole made in the end of thecontainer, the shape of this hole deviating from a circle and preferablybeing oval, and an upward projection filling a hole in the corner casingof the container above, this latter hole preferably being of the sameshape as the first-mentioned hole; in addition, is arranged in the body,a pivoting pin joining the projections which at their ends havetransverse stops that are able to pass through the openings when the pinis pivoted to a certain position but which are secured behind the edgesof the openings when the pin is pivoted to another position.

When empty containers are to be stacked, the containers are firstdismantled and their end frames pivoted around the hinge pins, towardsone another, to be placed on top of the bottom. At each corner, alocking piece is fitted so that its downward projection is inserted inthe opening in the end frame. Since the opening is non-circular andsince the projection fills this opening the locking piece cannot betwisted relative to the opening. Another container is lifted on to thefirst container so that the upward projections of the locking piecescoincide with the openings in the corner fittings of the uppermostcontainer. The pins in the locking pieces are thereafter turned so as tosecure the stops behind the edges of the openings. In the same way,several collapsed containers can be loaded on top of one another. Thedimensions of the containers may be chosen so that 5 to 7 stackedcollapsed containers have a height corresponding to that of an originalopened container.

The invention is explained by way of example in the followingdescription, with reference to the appended drawings, in which- FIG. 1shows a container ready for use,

FIG. 2 shows a section at 11-11 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a dismantled container, in which the ends have been pivotedaround their hinge pins towards one another on top of the bottom,

FIG. 4 shows five vertically stacked containers as per FIG. 3, which aresecured one to the other, and

FIG. 5 shows a section at V-V in FIG. 4.

The container illustrated in FIG. 1 is formed by a bottom 1 and endframes which can be pivoted around hinge pins 2. The right-hand endframe is closed by a corrugated metal panel 3 while the left-hand endframe is open and fitted with tensionable diagonal stays 4. Corner tubes5 are arranged between the top corners of the ends and the ends are heldin place by diagonal stays 6.

FIG. 2 shows to a larger scale a section of the lower corner of thecontainer. .A lug 7 isfixed to the upper surface of a side rail of thebottom 1, said lug containing a hinge pin 2. A section 8 forming part ofthe end frame is journalled on this hinge pin.A corne,r fitting 9 withopenings for lifting hooks is fitted at'the corner of the bottom 1. Anopening 1 in the corner fitting 9 is of oval shape. Similarly, anopening 11 of the same shape as opening is formed in sectionSand islocated exactly above opening 10 when the end is pivoteddown on bottom1.

. The container shown in FIGURE 1 is dismantled in such a way that firstthe diagonal stays 6 on the longer sides of the container are releasedby means of the turnbuckles 12. This releases the compression force oncorner tubes 5 so that they can be released. The tubes 5 are placed onthe bottom 1. Then the turnbuckles 12 and 13 on stays 4 and 6 are fullyunscrewed so that the ends of the stays are separated and the end framesof the container are rotated onto the bottom. This arrangement is shownin FIG. .3.

To form the packet shown in FIG. 4 a locking piece, best seen in FIG. 5,is placed at each corner of the container shown in FIG. 3. A downwardprojection of the body14 of the locking piece is inserted in the ovalopening 11 in the section 8. Projection 15 fills opening 11 entirely sothat the body of the locking piece cannot be turned relative to theopening 11. At this stage, a pivot pin 16 in body 14 and transversestops 17 and 18 at the ends of pin 16 are in a position as shown in FIG.5 by dot-dash lines. In this position there is room for stop 17 to passthrough opening 11. Another container is there after placed on top ofthe container shown in FIG. 3 so that the upward projection 20 in thebody 14 of the locking piece enters the opening 10' in corner casing 9and stop 18 enters casing 9. The stacked containers are secured behindthe edges of openings 10 and 11 by turning pin 16. In order to turn pin16, a slot 19 is arranged in body 14, through which slot the pin isengageable by a suitable key. The cross section of pin 16 in slot 19 isof square, hexagon, or any other suitable form so that it can be grippedby the key. The next container is locked on top of the preceding one inthe same way, and so forth.

The various versions of the invention can, of course, vary within thescope of the patent claims below. According to the drawing, the shortersides of the container, referred to above as the ends, are pivotedtowards one another on top of the bottom. But instead of these shortsides, the container could equally well be arranged so that the longersides can be pivoted around hinge pins towards one another on top of thebottom. As far as this invention is concerned, the significant point isthat two opposed sides of the container can be pivoted in the waydescribed above. The arrangement of the container in other respects isof less significance.

I claim:

1. In combination, a collapsible container and means for locking twocollapsed containers in superposed relation, each container comprisingabottom constituting a support for the container by resting on asupporting surface, a pair of opposite end frames pivotably mounted onsaid bottom for movement between an erect position and a collapsedposition on the bottom, said bottom including side rails and cornerfittingsysaid cornemfittings having openings for receiving a hook forlifting the container, said bottom including hinge means supporting theend frames in the region of said corner fittings, said end frames eachincluding a portion proximate 'said hinge means which is provided withan opening which is positioned in its associated end frame to becomevertically aligned with a corresponding opening in a corner fitting ofthe bottom of the same container when the end frame is collapsed,whereby the openings in the end frames will be aligned withcorrespondingopenings in the corner fittings of the bottom of acontainer superposed thereon, said means for lockin'g'two collapsedsuperposed containers comprising a device for each pair of alignedopenings including locking means having a first position for enteringadjacent aligned openings of two superposed containers, and a secondposition in which the locking means are locked in said aligned openingsand lock the superposed containers together. 1

2. The combination as claimed in claim'l wherein said openings arenon-circular and said locking means of each device is insertable in theopenings in said first position but is non-removable in said secondposition.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the locking means ofeach said device includes a turntable pin having opposite ends and stopson said ends of the pins engageable in respective openings. 1

4. The combination as claimed'in claim 3 wherein each said lockingdevice includes a body portion locked-between the collapsed end frame ofthe lower container and the said rail of the bottom of the superposedcontainer, said body portion including projections engageable in alignedopenings in said collapsed end frame and side rail such that the bodyportion is non-rotatable relative thereto, said pin being turnable insaid body portion.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 4wherein said body portion has aslot therein furnishing access to said pin to enable turning thereofbetween said first and second portion for locking and unlocking of thestops in the respective openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,122,258 2/1964 Shile 220-63,317,219 5/1967 Hindin 22023.4 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 647,990 9/1962 Canada.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner.

